Shifting Yoga Paradigm

A Questioning MindAs I sink deeper into my yoga, I am increasingly drawn to a philosphical perspective where I question long-standing tenets about this practice in validating a lot of my own convictions.

My personal take on yoga, as I continue to question existing conventions, is oftentimes unwelcome to those who find it too radical or even outright blasphemous. But even I, if I continue to stay true, cannot rethink otherwise even for the sake of peer compliance. A spade is a spade - even if I see it through my colored lenses (my unique life experience, whatever information is stored in my knowledge-base, the way logic stacks up, etc.). Without a questioning mind, without critical thinking, if I should just subscribe without question to what has been written by wise men without addressing issues that don't seem to fit, then I reduce the practice to blind devotion. And that is a dis-service to the practice. Yoga has survived thousands of years because it works...because it survives on its own merits.

Relevance to Present TimesWhat has been written about yoga by the ancients is a by product of their life and times. These writings were done by evolved men....but they are still of flesh and bones who put their pants on one leg at a time - just like you and me. To better appreciate their writings, wouldn't it be best to take it along its historical backdrop?

Perhaps they were written during times of upheaval and war. Do we live in such times now? Would all of those teachings continue to be relevant now?

Perhaps they were written by priests who led sedentary lives and meditated 20 hours a day. Are we priests in pursuit of a spiritual life? Or do we have to balance a life of work, family and pressing deadlines?

Perhaps they were written when there was no other source of information but a few adepts and sages? But in the here-and-now, we have the internet providing information from a global source - websites, e-books, YouTube videos, etc. So how much theory should we now pursue relative to our practice?

Our knowledge of human anatomy has gone leaps and bounds from the ancient times. How do we mindfully incorporate that into our asanas?

Continuing EvolutionYoga is not static. Just like evolution, it is a continuing process. It's a living entity with its own vibrant life-force. To put it in a non-compliant rigid structure is to put it inside a small box - a coffin in my parlance. This is not to say you go out and invent your own yoga. What I'm saying is that you get established in the practice and then listen to your body. Yoga should be made to adapt to your uniqueness. If you follow your yogic bliss, at some point, you should be practicing your own yoga - a yoga that is unique to your needs, demeanor and biology, and a yoga whose sense of purpose is consistent with what you want to make out of life.

Yoga TeachersThrough the guidance of my teacher now and of my teachers of the past, I continue my yogic evolution. And to my teachers in the future whom I have yet to meet, I open myself to new knowledge, new lessons and new ways of thinking.

--- TheLoneRider

Cebu City, Philippines

tourist attractions

Tops - hilltop offering panoramic view of the city

Taoist Temple - temple on a hillslope in Lahug with panoramic view of the city